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Kindy, Walters receive medical education scholarships
"These scholarships help deserving students from our region pursue their dreams of becoming healthcare professionals," said Kathi Osborne, Foundation Director at the hospital. "Our fondest hope is that they'll return home after their education to help care for the people of our local counties." Kindy said his intentions were to return to Hayesville following his pursuit of a medical career back home. "That's something I want to do," he said. "I want to be able to go to school and come back and be able to help my community." After his older brother developed an interest in pharmacy, Kindy said he too was intrigued by the field. His brother now serves as a clinical lab scientist. This fall Kindy will be enrolled in pre-pharmacy classes at Western Carolina University, having been awarded the Dorothy Cloer Healthcare Education Scholarship from MMC.
Alex Walters was awarded the Dr. Helen Wells Healthcare Education Scholarship and will study Pre- Medicine at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Over the past few years the Murphy Medical Center Foundation has awarded 22 scholarships totaling $38,500 to area students pursuing higher education in the healthcare arena. Seven scholarships are awarded each year to graduating high school students from Murphy, Andrews, Hiwassee Dam, Hayesville, and Robbinsville. "We're appreciative of the assistance from the high school scholarship committees in facilitating these awards," Osborne said. This year's high school student recipients were Meghan Anderson of Robbinsville, Ashley Boykin of Andrews, Colton Foster of Hiwassee Dam, Courtney Hopkins of Murphy and Kishan Patel of Murphy, as well as Kindy and Walters. Each student received a scholarship of $1,750. "This money will definitely help me reach my future goals," said Foster, who hopes to become a Medical Doctor specializing in Neonatology. The hospital annually renews scholarships as students continue to qualify. An additional 15 scholarships of $1,750 each were awarded this year to college students pursuing a wide range of healthcare-related study. "From Speech Therapy to Radiology to Optometry, we're helping students gain skills they can bring home and employ to the benefit of our community," said Osborne. The scholarships are granted in the names of three valued community members. "Dr. Helen Wells, Mr. John Carringer, and Ms. Dorothy Cloer have each contributed in significant ways to our community, and we're honored to award scholarships in their names," stated Osborne. Murphy Medical Center Foundation has an endowment of $1.5 million, proceeds from which are used, in part, to fund the annual healthcare education scholarships. Donations to the Foundation also help the hospital fund ongoing improvements and ensure the future stability of the hospital. Cash, bequests, stocks, or in-kind donations are accepted. Kindy said he looked forward to starting his own pharmacy or working at a small shop. "I'd like to work somewhere that's not a chain," he said. "You start to lose a little of the hometown feel. Kerr Drug is like the McDonalds pharmacy... It's not like the country drug store."
Elements of this article have been compiled from a Murphy Medical Center press release.
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